Merry Christmas, One and all. Unfortunately, I didn't prepare a Christmas special, but I do have this one. And I'm a little crunched for time, so I might not have a chance to proofread this time. But still, I hope you enjoy.

Locke

It felt like a huge weight off my shoulders when we finally pulled into my grandparent's driveway a little over an hour after my near-death experience with Gotenks. My clothes were still drenched with blood, his and mine, but I tried my best not to stop to let people get a good look.

We dismounted and I led Meadow up to the door. "Trust me," I assured her. "They'll love you. Especially when we give them the good news."

"Locke, we don't know-"

"Not that news." I smiled. "About our very far-off engagement."

She bit her lip. "Could you keep that a secret, too?" she requested. "There's enough going on already." I nodded and knocked on the door.

It was practically thrown open and a pair of arms grabbed me tightly. "Wh-whoa!" I cried. "Easy, Gran!" I hugged my grandmother back.

"Your mother filled us in," Gramps said from behind her. "I'm still not sure about the Android-"

I held up my hand to stop him. "His name is Cell. If you're gonna use 'Android' as an insult, then you're insulting me, too." He nodded. "How is he, anyway? He was in really bad shape the last time I saw him."

They both ushered us inside. "See for yourself." Laying on the couch with his head propped up on my mother's lap was none other than Cell.

They both smiled. "You had us worried," Cell informed me. "We thought Gotenks was going to kill you."

Meadow hugged my arm tightly. "I was there! How do you think I felt?"

I smiled and put my free hand on her shoulder. "He almost did," I told them. "My heart stopped twice." Cell's expression changed to one of disbelief. "Then he tried to take Meadow and leave me for dead, and I got so angry... I transformed, into something new."

"New?" Mom asked.

"Gotenks said it looked like some kind of Super Saiyan Orchid 2." Cell jerked up, but fell right back down, groaning in pain. "Still not better?" I sighed. "Then it's a good thing we looted these off Goten and Trunks." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bags of Senzu Beans. I walked over and gave one to Cell.

Once he swallowed, he carefully sat up and looked down at his body. "I can move," he breathed. "Those beans truly are magnificent!" He stood and threw a few experimental punches in the air.

It was then that I noticed something gleaming on Mom's finger. "Hey, what's that?" I asked. "You never wear jewelry."

She smiled, beaming with joy, and held her hand up to show off the ring. "Why don't you ask your father?"

It took me a second to process the information. By the quick tug on my arm, Meadow had figured it out a split second before me. "You two are... getting married?" Cell stopped his experimental punches to flash me a grin. One instantly spread across my face. "I'm going to have a real dad!"

"As real as an Android gets," Gramps muttered.

I shot a dirty look at him. "Two Androids here, old man."

"Right; sorry."

I looked down and smiled contently at Meadow. That's one hell of a coincidence. First we get engaged, then them. "This may be one of the best days of my life," I declared.

"Now," Gran interjected. "I don't believe you've introduced us to this young lady."

Meadow smiled. "Meadow Fae, ma'am."

"The love of my life," I stated, bending down slightly to kiss her.

"L-Locke!" she scolded as I pulled away. "That's not a good first impression!" To her dismay, laughter ensued.

A while later, after we were all settled in and I was cleaned up, Meadow came to me with an odd request. "Where?" I asked.

"You'll see," she assured me. "Just take me there; it's important."

"Alright," I agreed, and I gave a quick heads-up to everyone before we left.

We stopped in front of a fairly average home a few blocks away. Meadow led me to the door and rang the bell.

"One second," a voice called from inside. The door opened, revealing a brunette woman with blue eyes, dressed in a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. Her eyes fell on Meadow. "Meadow?"

She smiled. "Hey, Mom." At that word, I panicked slightly. Sure, it hadn't been too awkward when she met my mom or when I met her dad, but we'd taken several big steps in a short time, and I was now meeting the last parent.

The woman's eyes moved to me. "Honey, are you aware that a shady man is following you?"

Meadow's smile grew. "This 'shady man' is my boyfriend."

It was the woman's turn to be surprised. I held out my hand. "Locke Brangwen," I greeted.

"Georgia," she said, but turned down the handshake. I awkwardly lowered my hand. "Meadow, you know you're only supposed to bring family here."

Meadow shook her head. "He already knows about George." It only then occured to me that if her brother didn't live with her and her dad, then he'd have to be... here. "And he know's why he's so different." We couldn't have been pulled in faster.

We sat down and I explained the whole thing to Mrs. Fae, with her becoming more skeptical with every word. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" she finally asked. "My son may be a bit different, but he's no monster!"

I shook my head. "I'm not calling him a monster. Then I'd be calling myself and my dad monsters." She stared in shock; that was the first time I mentioned my being an Android as well. "He's an Android, made as an early model for Dr. Gero's final project, just like me."

She was silent for a few seconds, then turned. "George!" she called. "You can come out now."

We all looked down the hall, and a door opened. Out stepped one of the strangest creatures I'd ever seen. His skin was dark grey, but his head was covered partially by bone-like white armor, with a red crystal set into his head. Blue markings framed his face, but his eyes were normal, being the same blue as Meadow and their mother. He wore a West City Battleball jersey and jeans, with a long grey tail extending out the back. His feet were covered by the same white armor.

George looked straight at me. "So I'm an Android?" he asked.

I shook off my surprise to answer. "Yeah, just like me."

He raised an eyebrow. "You look normal, though." I slipped into my Noire Form. He seemed surprised. "You can do that, too?" His eyes filled with black.

We both reverted and I continued. "It's called Noire Form, something Gero's computer gave us so we'd have the edge over real members of our races."

George sat beside his mother. "So, the data used to make me: where'd it come from?"

"The Frieza Clan," I answered. "Specifically Frieza, his dad, Cold, and his brother, Cooler."

"They sound like cool guys," he commented, a smile splitting his face.

I sighed. "Classy. A 'cool' joke for the Frieza Clan."

Meadow looked at me accusingly. "And what about you and your dad with your 'perfect' cracks?" She had me there.

George sat forward, the joke forgotten. "So, any chance I can meet your dad? You know, to learn more about myself."

I scratched the back of my head. "He's not really okay with strangers right now, but I can bring you the document we took from Gero's lab. It explains almost everything about us."

"That'd be great." His phone beeped in his pocket. "Oh, my show's about to come on. I'll see you guys later." He retreated back into his room.

Mrs. Fae sighed. "This is a lot to take in," she sighed. "But now Ben can't say I cheated on him anymore." She stood and started to walk off. "Sorry, Meadow, but I left some stuff in your room. It'll only take a second to get out, though."

Meadow bit her lip. "Um, actually, Mom..." She looked back at us. "I'm going to be staying with Locke at his grandparent's place, a few blocks away."

Her mother didn't look thrilled. "And why would I allow that?" she demanded. "I'm not letting my daughter stay the night with a boy I just met! How can I make sure you don't get any naughty ideas?" Little late for that, potential Grandma-to-be.

I shook my head. "My dad barely sleeps, and his senses are acute enough to catch anything. We'd probably never get away with it."

"Besides," Meadow continued, "I wasn't asking." That caught both of us off guard. "Mom, do you realize that I'm sitting next to someone who could destroy this planet and several others without even breaking a sweat?"

"Uh, Meadow..." I tried to stop her, but she continued.

"There's a freaking apocalypse going on everywhere but this city, and there's no telling how long that will last. Who do you think I'll be safer with: you and George, or Locke?" We were all silent, her mother probably out of shock, and me in my fantasies of the things I was going to do to her later that night. It was probably a Saiyan thing, but that forcefulness had revved my engine into overdrive.

"Okay," Mrs. Fae finally relented. "But stop by tomorrow; we haven't seen you in a while."

Meadow smiled and nodded. "I will, Mom."

We waved as we left, and as soon as I heard the door close, I leaned in toward her. "We may need to stop by a general store on the way back."

"Why?"

I grinned. "That speech got my Saiyan blood flowing." She blushed, but smiled.

"What about Cell?"

"He's an Android. He'll probably be okay with it if he know's we're doing it safely."

She nodded. "Then it's a date." She reached up and kissed me.

George

Late that night, I was playing on my Nintendo, when I felt a presence enter the room. Right as I looked up, it materialized, taking the shape of a black specter in a cloak.

"The hell?!" I reached for the bat I kept by my bed.

The shadow held its hands up. "I come not to harm you, brother." I stopped. "I have come to help you gain what is your's."

I hesitated, but moved away from the bat. "Go on."